The Biodiversity and Conservation Bill, which was set to be debated this week, is intended to replace outdated laws and provide greater environmental protections.

WWF's Species Conservation Manager for Southwest Australia, Merril Halley, said the bill seemed to have too many loopholes.

"There's a lot of things in the bill which mean there's probably less protection for biodiversity," she said.

"There's a lot of discretion, there's a lot of exemptions in the bill and it just seems contrary to promoting and conserving biodiversity in Western Australia.

"The minister can allow a species to be destroyed, allowing it to become extinct.

"We actually call on the Government to put the bill on hold so that proper consultation could occur."

Ms Halley said there was not enough consultation on the bill, and WWF would be happy to work on changes with the Government.

Minister determined to push ahead

However, WA Environment Minister Albert Jacob said the biodiversity bill would be debated, and would not be dumped.

"Absolutely not! This bill will not be abandoned, this bill is a key election commitment of the Liberal-National Government," he said.

"Our biodiversity conservation legislation is the oldest in Australia, we need this legislation to properly protect our incredibly rich biodiversity in Western Australia and the Government remains committed to this bill."

Mr Jacob said there was nothing wrong with expanded ministerial discretion.

There's been criticism of the ability for a minister of the day to allow a species to go extinct, yes that measure is in the bill.

Environment Minister Albert Jacob

"Our entire political system says that when there's a discretionary decision that needs to be made, that should usually be made by a minister," he said.

The bill would bring a massive increase in fines for anyone who killed an animal of a threatened species, substantially larger than what was currently available under the Wildlife Conservation Act.

Mr Jacob said the threat of prison time was also inherent because if a fine was not paid, offenders could potentially go to jail.

He also criticised the white paper issued by the Environmental Defender's Office.

"It is littered with inaccuracies, whether deliberate or otherwise -- some of the criticism of this bill is coming very close to moving into the space of political activism," he said.